2020 Top 50 Mexican Multi-Unit Report: Many Growing, Some Shrinking

el Restaurante 2020 Multi-Unit Report

Multi-unit restaurants had a strong year in 2019, according to Technomic. The largest 500 multi-unit restaurants saw average sales grow nearly 4 percent last year, the best growth rate since 2015.

Mexican multi-unit restaurants played an important role in that growth. Taco Bell, for example, enjoyed 7 percent growth in the third quarter of 2019 compared to the previous year. And Chipotle saw its revenue in the third quarter jump 14.6 percent, impressive given the company’s food-safety problems in previous years.

In terms of overall number of units, though, growth was slower. While many Mexican restaurant chains increased their unit count – 21 of the top 50 grew in unit count, according to our data – some shrunk over the past year, including Taco Cabana and Taco Bueno. Overall, the top 51 (there was a tie at number 50, so we have 51 multi-units on the list year) Mexican multi-units have a total of 15,817 units, compared to 15,791 in 2019.

Two Additions to Our List

Two Mexican multi-units appear on the el Restaurante Top 50 List for the first time in 2020.

Bubbakoos Burritos debuted at 42nd place, tied with Rusty Taco and Casa Ole. The company, which is based in New Jersey and was profiled in the Oct/Nov/Dec issue of el Restaurante, has 32 locations. More are on the way: Co-founder Bill Hart told us he hoped to have 100 units in various stages of development by the end of 2019.

“We’re blessed with what we have so far, and want to continue to grow,” Hart says. “We want to be a successful brand that is longstanding, and to do that, we need to do it strategically.” (Read a profile of Bubbakoo's by clicking here.)

The other new entry to the list is Pollo Regio. This company enters the list in 34th place with 47 units. However, it didn’t get into the list with a sudden burst of growth; Rather, the data source we use (see sidebar) previously didn’t classify the company has a Mexican-cuisine multi-unit.

Pollo Regio specializes in mesquite-grilled chicken. The chain began its existence in Austin, Texas as a trailer with a charcoal grill operated by Juan Jorge Bazaldua. “The demand for his chicken was so great that it wasn’t unusual for him to outsell everything by noon each day and already had people placing orders for the next day,” according to the restaurant’s website. “It quickly became a successful concept and soon Pollo Regio moved into a regular storefront.”

Below are news highlights from some of the largest chains on the list:

Taco Bell Goes Green, Helps Employees

Taco Bell, which is owned by Yum Brands and is the largest Mexican multi-unit, made news by announcing that the company would make all of its consumer-facing packaging recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2025. The company also said it would begin offering paid sick time for employees in all corporate-owned restaurant and offer managers salaries up to $100,000.

“As Taco Bell expands its footprint, our responsibility to drive positive impact increases,” said Taco Bell CEO Mark King in a statement. “Our business growth in the last decade has positioned us to create change for good and implement creative solutions for our planet, our people and our food. We're excited to shake things up and make 2020 even more about what matters most: our purpose.”

Chipotle Experiments with Delivery-Focused Store Design

Chipotle, which is number 2 on our list, announced that it’s trying out a new restaurant design that will speed delivery and pick-up of digital orders. That makes sense, as the company has seen its digital business grow to $1 billion dollars.

The new design will include walk-up windows and premium placement of pick-up portals, as well as coolers that make it easier to reach bottled beverages. The new design will debut in four stores in Chicago, Cincinnati and Phoenix.

Meat alternatives are trending, and Qdoba – the third largest Mexican multi-unit – is profiting from that trend by adding Impossible-brand plant-based protein to its offerings. Qdoba’s version is seasoned in-restaurant with a blend of tomatoes, garlic, smoked chiles and paprika, and mixed with diced red onions.

“During our test, we quickly learned that consumers loved our unique take on Impossible, making it an easy decision to launch nationally,” said Jill Adams, vice president of marketing for Qdoba, in a statement. “Our Impossible offering appeals to both meat lovers and vegans, while also delivering on the big, bold flavors that we’re known for at Qdoba.”

The company also announced that franchisor Premier Queso Kings LLC will open 20 Qdoba locations in Georgia and Alabama, expanding the chain’s presence southward.

Moe’s Gets New Leadership

Moe’s Southwest Grill, the fourth-largest chain on our list, experienced a change in leadership in September. The company’s new president is Erik Hess, who previously spent 25 years at McDonalds in a number of leadership positions in product development, customer service and restaurant development.

“I am excited to lead the Moe’s Southwest Grill brand because it sits in one of the fastest growing segments in the restaurant industry,” Hess said in a press release. “The brand has great food, an incredibly loyal fan base and very involved franchisees. We're well positioned to accelerate growth.”

El Pollo Loco Supports L.A. Mural Painting

El Pollo Loco, the beloved Latino chicken chain that is number 6 on the el Restaurante list, is offering its exterior store walls in Los Angeles in an effort to help preserve L.A.’s Hispanic mural tradition. According to the company, 60 percent of the city’s murals have vanished over the years. Since many of these were created by Hispanic artists, their loss diminishes the Hispanic’s community’s heritage.

The restaurant has long made its walls available to murals, but this effort puts a new focus on that. The first mural of this program was painted by L.A.-based Latino artist Juan Hector Ponce on the exterior wall of the Pollo Loco on Alvarado Street in MacArthur Park.

“Over 81 percent of our workforce at El Pollo Loco is Hispanic, which is why we’re passionate about celebrating and preserving our Mexican-American roots in the diverse communities we serve. We are excited to continue this connection through original artwork on our restaurants,” said Bernard Acoca, the company’s president and CEO in a press release. “We also look forward to unveiling our next mural in early 2020, with more to come.”

Taco Cabana Sheds Locations

Taco Cabana closed 19 locations in Texas in January in an effort to shore up profitability.

“During the fourth quarter, our Taco Cabana team began implementation of a margin improvement plan,” said Richard Stockinger, CEO of Fiesta Group, the company that owns Taco Cabana. “The margin improvement plan includes efficiency initiatives in operations across food and operating expense categories and the closure of 19 underperforming restaurants in Texas. These closures eliminate all stores with significant losses, which we expect will result in a highly viable portfolio of restaurants.”

The information that allows us to create the Top 50 Mexican Multi-Units list comes from several sources. It starts with data from restaurantdata.com, which compiles multi-unit information year round. In many cases, we further refine the data by visiting the multi-units’ websites, reviewing their press or investors’ material, and talking with company representatives. The numbers are not 100 percent accurate – chains open and close locations constantly – but we believe they are the most accurate available.